Charges against Daler Mehndi to be framed on May 9

Patiala, Apr 19 (UNI) A Sessions court here has dismissed pop singer Daler Mehndi's revision petition against the orders by the trial court summoning him in the human trafficking case registered against him and his brother Shamsher.

The orders issued by the Additional District and Sessions Judge Sukhwinder Kaur today cleared the legal hurdles for framing of charges against the pop singer in the trial court on May 9.

The trial court in the recent hearings had summoned Daler Mehndi for framing of charges. However, he had moved a revision petition before the additional district and session judge challenging the trial court orders.

Daler's counsel Barjinder Singh Sodhi had maintained in the revision petition that the Patiala police, which was the investigating the case, had filed a discharge application in the court. The police in its application had claimed that there was no evidence against Daler and charges levelled against him in the FIR should be dropped.

The counsel contended that as per law and the stand of the police, Daler could not be summoned till some additional evidence came up in the case.

However, the counsel for complainants in the case, Gurpreet Singh, also claimed that the court had the power to ignore the discharge application filed later by the police and summon the accused.

The complainants had challenged the discharge application filed by the police on the contention that while similar evidence was being upheld against the co-accused, Daler Mehndi was being discharged. They also contended that vital evidence, including the information provided by Canadian embassy officials had been ignored by the police while filing the discharge application.

The local police had registered a case under various sections of the IPC and the Indian Passport Act on September 19, 2003 at the Sadar police station here on the complaint of one Bakhshish Singh of Balbehra village.

In his complaint Bakhshish Singh along with another 24 complainants had accused Daler Mehndi and his brother Shamsher duo allegedly taking money on the promise of including them in his (Daler's) troupe during foreign trips. They alleged that the Mehndi brothers also failed to return their money and instead were threatening them.

UNI